


Intertwined Hands and Yarn Strands

by TheSadisticMunchkin



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, College Student Castiel, Destiel Christmas Minibang, Fluff, M/M, Prompt Fill, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, scarf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-11
Updated: 2015-12-11
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:59:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5328341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSadisticMunchkin/pseuds/TheSadisticMunchkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel is looking forward to seeing Dean again after spending four years in London for University. The problem is he’s  seeing him during Christmas. Cas is really shitty at giving presents. The alarm clock he gave Dean during their one year anniversary is a worthy witness to his proficiency in gift giving. This year though, he is willing to try harder.</p><p> </p><p>  <i>He would soon find himself slumped against his desk, with the word scarf encircled a thousand times on the piece of paper, as a loud snore escaped his chapped lips.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Intertwined Hands and Yarn Strands

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Girlwithgoggles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlwithgoggles/gifts).



> This is for Day 13 of the Destiel Christmas Minibang! As it says on the tin, this prompt is "Scarf"
> 
> I hope you enjoy the plotless fluff <3

            12 Days until Christmas and he still doesn’t have a gift for Dean.

 

            Castiel threw the 52nd (or is it 53rd?) crumpled piece of paper with stupid Christmas present ideas written on it into the bin next to his desk and put his head on the hardwood surface with a soft thud. This was useless. He’s got less than two weeks to prepare seeing Dean and his family for the first time in four years. Ever since he got accepted to his dream University in London, he didn’t have the time or money left to visit Dean as frequently anymore.

 

            Fortunately Dean stood by him, skype calls and international text messages be damned.

 

            Sometimes he thinks he doesn’t deserve someone like Dean to endure all the webcam sex and late night phone calls. Christmas for the past four years wasn’t exactly the same. Sure, he’s got Gabe who actually lived somewhere in Brighton who spends it with him. However, one can only take so many banana cream pies and tiny Christmas trees in his apartment space.

 

            Every time he hands Gabe another slice, he suddenly smells the delectable apple pie Mrs. Winchester was making in the kitchen. Every time he watches Gabe rip open a present (with Lucifer watching in amusement if he even decided to come), he would be seeing Dean’s smiling face as he shows the most amazing enthusiasm at the gift he’s given him. Even if it was just a pair of mittens or a plastic cup with _‘Hotter Than Hellfire’_  crudely printed on the front, Dean cherished every single one.

 

            And Castiel cherished each little smile and tender kiss he gave him in return.

 

            A few tears started gathering in Cas’ eyes as his frustration got the better of him. He ran his hands roughly through his already unruly hair before he squished his cheek up against his hand. 12 days. 12 days until Christmas. 5 days until he boards a plane to Kansas. 358 days of preparing himself just for the one day where he gets to see Dean go all out on anything.

 

            His mind goes back to that damn alarm clock again and he hits his head against his desk repeatedly until it starts to throb. “I can’t let Dean down this year. No more last minute shopping or pathetic Christmas discounts.” Cas sat up straight in his chair while he gave himself the well needed encouragement. He ripped another page from his rapidly depleting notebook and started writing down ideas again.

 

            He would soon find himself slumped against his desk, with the word **_scarf_** encircled a thousand times on the piece of paper, as a loud snore escaped his chapped lips.

* * *

            “Cas it’s 5:30 in the morning.”

 

            “You promised me, Charlie.”

 

            _“But it’s 5:30.”_

 

“I’ll make you the maid of honor at our wedding.”

 

            Silence followed his statement before a shuffle of sheets was heard on the other end.

 

            “Let me grab my sweater.”

* * *

 

            Charlie has known Castiel since birth.

 

            Cas was born in a different hospital but they both came into this world, screeching like the banshees they are, at exactly 11:11pm. She wasn’t quite sure if they were the wish that their mothers asked to come true but they were still here nevertheless. Cas was her best friend. She was the first one she came out to. She even went to London with him because they made a promise to each other 15 years ago that they would someday live in an apartment together and figure life out.

 

            She would follow Cas to the ends of the earth to make sure he didn’t fall off.

 

            Today, she followed him to some craft supplies store 2 hours away from town.

 

            He was carrying around a crumpled piece of paper with some sort of color palette and comparing it to the different spools of yarn that lined the walls. She wasn’t quite sure if it was some sort of aesthetic he was looking for or a certain color scheme. All she knew was that he was up late almost every night finding the perfect palette and now here they were in a craft store. Charlie looked at her watch for the 10th time and found that if he doesn’t get his supplies soon, they would miss lunch.

 

            And Charlie _never_ misses lunch.

 

            “Hey, Cassy?” crooned Charlie in a mockingly sweet tone. Her best friend didn’t even _glance_ her way. “ _Rude._ ” she said slightly louder but it was either he was deliberately ignoring her or he needed to get his ears cleaned out because he _still_ didn’t look at her.

 

            “Do you think I could get this color in about 3 bundles?” Cas asked one of the employees, who nodded and took the spool of forest green yarn from him. Charlie nodded in acknowledgement at the cute employee before turning to her friend with a slight scowl. Just as she was about to tell him off for keeping her here for how many hours, Cas’ cellphone rang and he held up a finger to her with an apologetic smile.

 

            “It’s a text from Dean…” He said a few seconds after reading it and the soft smile that graced his face melted all her anger away. How could she be mad at someone so fucking in love with their boyfriend that they make faces like that? How could she ever yell at her best friend when he was so head over heels for this simple man from Kansas that he came all this way to be able to make the perfect Christmas present? She could never bring herself to be mad at him. No matter how hard she tried, she was always a sucker for Castiel being happy.

 

She knew he deserved it after all the shit he’s been through.

 

“What’d he say, Cas?”

 

“He sent me a picture of their new kitten that was born just this morning.” He showed her the picture of the newly born kitten and she couldn’t help but squeal at how cute it was. It was curled up around the little angel plushie Cas left behind when he went to London. It was followed by a small passage from Dean that read _‘I spent a bit of money for intnl texting just to send u this. have any suggestions on a name, angel?’_ Charlie could hurl on how adorable everything was. She figured that would probably kill the moment if she did.

 

She watched him type a response with that lovesick grin on his face and she figured lunch could wait.

* * *

 

            “Cas you’re already there. You can breathe now! It’s Christmas!”

 

            “After several hours of flight I just have to ask myself why I’m so worked up over this…”

 

            “You fucking tell me, Cas! You _know_ Dean is going to love it.”

 

            “What if he’s just been pretending to like my lame gifts?”

 

            “You’re delusional.”

 

            “Gee thanks.”

 

            “You can’t even deny it.”

 

            Before Cas could make another sarcastic remark, the lamp beside his and Dean’s shared bed turned on. Cas practically slammed the laptop shut and hid it underneath his pillow before Dean looked up at him. Cas couldn’t help but admire the way Dean’s eyelashes fluttered against his skin as he blinked, how the muscles in his arms stretched as he brought his arms over his head briefly, and he almost forgot what he was doing here in the first place.

 

            What mattered was the fact that he _was_ here with Dean.

 

            That was enough.

 

            “Babe, why are you up so early? It’s…” Dean checked the bedside alarm clock and squinted slightly at the big red numbers. “It’s 3:30am.” It was hard to concentrate on his words while he was running two fingers across the length of his arm but Cas, thankfully, was able to piece them together into a coherent sentence.

 

            “I’m just a little jet lagged, that’s all. Go back to bed, honey.” He ran his hand through Dean’s hair for a second but Dean caught it with his own before he could put it down. Cas automatically smiled as his boyfriend immediately intertwined their fingers together against the sheets. It was in a slightly awkward angle because Dean was still lying down on his stomach but neither of them cared.

 

            “Nah I can’t go back to bed now.”

 

            “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

 

            “No shit, Sherlock!” Dean’s gruff morning voice made it sound a little less sarcastic but Cas knew what he meant. “But I don’t mind, really.” With Dean distracted while casually playing with Cas’ hands, he took this opportunity to _really_ look at him since he came back.

 

            Castiel has forgotten how beautiful Dean looked at these hours of the morning. Though he would argue that he looks like bird shit, he thinks he’s the most gorgeous person he’s ever had the pleasure of loving. The dim light from the bedside lamp cast a soft glow on his face which illuminated his features in a way that it was almost ethereal. Cas always wondered if he even deserved a man such as Dean Winchester.

 

            Then the blonde man would kiss him and he’d remember.

 

            “Oh Merry Christmas, by the way!” Dean sat up on the bed with his hand still intertwined with Cas’. “I can’t wait to see what you get me this year. I’m honestly excited!” That’s when Castiel’s heart started beating fast again. He couldn’t tell if Dean was being sarcastic or genuine and that’s what’s scaring him. Why was he so nervous? Why was this such a big deal to him? After a few seconds of looking at his boyfriend in mild panic and suddenly he understood.

 

            Dean was worth so much more than a shitty alarm clock. Dean deserved more than last minute gifts and store bought goodies from across the street.

 

            Dean deserved everything he could give him.

 

            Because Dean _was_ his everything.

 

            “I’d like to give you your gift now.” He probably shouldn’t have said that so fast because Dean was looking at him with a weird expression on his face.

 

            “Wait… now? Gift giving time isn’t for another few hours, angel.”

 

            “Yes but I’d rather give it to you now than face the wrath of your father for yet another lame Christmas gift that’s 7 years in the running.”

 

            “Hey that Pez dispenser of John Cena last year wasn’t that bad!”

 

            “Can I give it to you, assbutt?”

 

            “I’ll close my eyes to keep up the suspense.”

 

            Cas rolled his eyes as Dean covered his own with his hands and he carefully got out of the bed towards his bag. The only sound in the room at the moment was Dean humming _Hark! The Herald Angels Sing_ and the shuffling of clothes in his luggage. His heart was racing, his head was spinning and his hands were shaking but he was able to get the badly wrapped present from underneath his collection of Christmas themed socks.

 

            He looked over his shoulder at Dean, who still had his hands covering his eyes, and slowly walked over to his side of the bed. With another heavy sigh and a silent prayer, he placed his present on top of Dean’s legs and soon braced himself for the worst. “Okay… You can look now.” Dean did as he was told and his eyes lit up as he took the present into his hands.

 

            “Oh Sweet! You wrapped it yourself too! That means it’s going to be really good!”

 

            _Please tell me you’re not lying._

 

“It’s pretty soft too. I was hoping they’d be handcuffs but we can save that for my birthday right, angel?” Dean winked at him cheekily and he Cas was sure that his face was as red as the stockings over the fireplace downstairs by now. The ripping sound of the gingerbread man patterned wrapping paper practically echoed in his ears and he prayed to whoever was listening that this wouldn’t be the last straw for Dean.

 

            After what felt like hours of Dean unwrapping it, there it was settled in his hands. There was the scarf he slaved 6 hours every night making. The product of his tears, band-aid clad fingers and sleepless nights sat neatly at his boyfriend’s fingertips. Dean smiled softly as he ran his hand through the intertwined strands of yarn and soon he looked up at Castiel with the biggest smile he has ever seen.

 

            “Did you make this?” Cas could practically _hear_ the adoration and astonishment in Dean’s voice and he asked himself why he was so worried in the first place. The way those green eyes that matched the color of the scarf looked at him like he was a being he couldn’t believe was even in his presence made his breath catch in his throat. The gentle caress of the man’s hands on the Christmas gift he spent days making he likened to the way he would hold his face in between his hands when he kissed him goodnight.

 

            Castiel couldn’t even verbally respond. All he was able to do was blush and nod. The familiar movement must have been a sign to Dean for he draped the scarf over his arm and gestured for Cas to move closer to the bed. When he was standing by the edge of the bed, Dean sat up on his knees while facing him so he could be eye level with him. Normally this was a seductive motion but Cas knew better. “You’re incredible, you know that right?”

 

            “You may have mentioned it once or twice.”

 

            “I’ve mentioned it probably a billion times, Castiel Novak.”

 

            “Well that’s a little unrealistic-”

 

            “The point is…” Dean said, effectively cutting off whatever sarcastic remark Castiel was about to say. “You don’t give yourself enough credit for how absolutely amazing you are. Cas, I don’t care if the gifts you give me are shitty. They’re not. Especially to _me_. All I care about is the goddamn fact that _you_ care enough to get me a gift every year. To be fucking honest, I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t give me a gift at all.”

 

            With that statement said almost like a whisper, Dean practically whipped the scarf around Cas’ neck with one hand and pulled the ends of it until his boyfriend’s ear was mere inches to his mouth. Cas shivered at Dean’s breath lightly puffed against his earlobe. Dean was well aware that this was his weak spot. “You know what’s the perfect present?” Cas was frozen on the spot but he felt heat in every part of his body.

 

            “Your hands.”

 

            _Oh god._

 

“Your eyes.”

 

            _Sweet Jesus please stop._

 

“And of course those lips.”

 

            _I’m dead now right? I’m probably dead._

 

Dean gripped the ends of the scarf in his hands and brought Cas face to face with him. A tiny squeak escaped Cas’ mouth but soon that sound was lost in Dean’s own. He refused to stay frozen in place and he utilized his hands by bringing them around Dean’s waist and pressing him impossibly closer to him. Dean hummed happily and gripped the scarf tighter as Cas rubbed circles on to his hips with his thumbs.

 

            When they finally pulled away Cas couldn’t stop the smile that was probably wider than his face at this point. He looked at Dean with hooded eyes and placed his hand on his cheek with a chuckle escaping his lips. “You should have told me that when we started dating. I would have saved a shit ton of money.” Dean matched his laughter, his eyes crinkling at the sides as he tied the scarf around his boyfriend’s neck.

 

            “You know what?” Dean asked as he attempted to flatten the scarf against Cas’ chest like it was a business tie.

 

            “What?” Dean fiddled with the little green strands of yarn at the end of the scarf before looking up at Cas with a cheeky grin.

  
            “It looks better on you.”

**Author's Note:**

> everyone give it up for tumblr user "alloutofgoodnames" for making the art for this fic! Stay tuned for my next DCMINIBANG fic real soon! :)


End file.
